The IT Help Podcast-A brief history (Part 1)

January 26, 2011

I produce a podcast called “The IT Help Podcast”. It’s aimed at technology users at Indiana University and you can find it here.

Here’s a brief overview of the different types of shows that fall under the IT Help Podcast umbrella. There’s the original type simply called the IT Help Podcast; there’s the IT Help Special Edition; and there’s the Quickcast.

The original IT Help Podcasts had a sort of magazine-style format and covered more than one topic. The first episode was produced in late 2007. I re-did it with an updated look and feel in early 2008.

The objective of Episode 1 was to help IU users connect to the wireless network. At the start I listed three topics that would be covered in the podcast: Wireless for handhelds and laptops; software to get you connected; and wireless security guidelines.

I created titles for the sections: Technology Tip, Secure Computing, and Featured Software. Each section was marked by an introduction with a graphic and stinger music.

After producing two episodes of the “regular” IT Help Podcasts I decided to rethink the format. What evolved were the Quickcasts and Special Editions.

The Quickcast is the format I produce most often. It re-purposes an IU Knowledge Base document “in a portable multimedia format.” I call them Quickcasts because they’re short (they must last no longer than 5 minutes) and I wanted to differentiate these episodes from those that were longer and didn’t necessarily rely on a single KB document for information.

The third type of IT Help Podcast is the Special Edition. When I needed to create a podcast about a topic that could not be explained in less than 5 minutes, I created an IT Help Special Edition Podcast.

These were often in two parts and referenced more than one Knowledge Base document as well as outside resources and information learned from my UITS colleagues.

That’s the IT Help Podcast overview. I’ll talk more about my process and the tools I use to create these podcasts in future posts.